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Men’s Tennis Faces Kentucky on Friday Evening
Men's Tennis  . 

Men’s Tennis Faces Kentucky on Friday Evening

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 16 South Carolina men’s tennis team (10-5, 3-5 SEC) takes on No. 27 Kentucky (12-7, 3-4 SEC) on Friday, March 20 at 5:00 p.m. to round out its four-match homestand. The Gamecocks look to snap a three-match losing streak with their eighth consecutive ranked opponent of the season.

The match will be held at the Carolina Outdoor Tennis Center, weather permitting. Pit parking is available, first come first serve. Fans are also encouraged to park in metered spots around the facility.

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

  • Last time out, the Gamecocks went 0-2 this past weekend at home in losses to then-No. 7 Mississippi State and then-No 23 Ole Miss.
  • Paul Barbier Gazeu picked up wins in each match, defeating Mississippi State’s then-No. 39 Mario M Serrano 6-4, 7-6(4), and Rebel Pietro Pampani 6-3, 6-2. Lucas da Silva and Sean Daryabeigi each tallied a singles win, with da Silva defeating the No.55 ranked player from Mississippi State and Daryabeigi pulling out a victory over his opponent from Ole Miss.
  • Daryabiegi and Max Stenzer won a ranked doubles match against Mississippi State, taking down No. 72 Serrano and Michael Novansky 6-3.
  • da Silva and Gazeu lead the team with a 10-3 record each in singles play. Da Silva’s record leads the team from the top of the lineup, while Gazeu’s is from the second and third spots. Freshman Charlie Swaine is 8-4 on the season, with the majority of his record coming from the sixth spot in the lineup.
  • In doubles, da Silva and Gazeu hold a strong 8-2 record in dual matches. The pair held an impressive eight match win streak before falling to a duo from Texas A&M.

IN THE RANKINGS

  • In the latest release of the Team ITA rankings announced earlier this week, the Gamecocks dropped from No. 14 to No. 16.
  • Da Silva leads the team in singles rankings, sitting at No. 15, which is a one spot improvement from his last standing and the highest ranking he has achieved in his collegiate career. Daryabeigi follows at No. 57 and Gazeu rounds out the Garnet & Black representation at No. 105.
  • In doubles, da Silva and Gazeu are ranked amongst the best in the nation at No. 8, moving up two spots from their last standing. Daryabeigi and Stenzer fell to No. 88 while da Silva and Daryabeigi sit at No. 60.

WEEKLY AWARD WATCH

  • South Carolina has earned five SEC weekly awards so far this season from three different Gamecocks which marks the most from any team in the conference so far this season.
  • Da Silva was named Player of the Week twice, on Feb. 11 and Feb. 25.
  • Gazeu picked up two Freshman of the Week honors on Jan. 21 and Feb. 11.
  • Swaine shared a Freshman of the Week honor with Georgia’s Noah Johnson on Feb. 25.
  • The Gamecocks have swept the weekly awards twice this season.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

Kentucky holds a 12-7 record and comes in at No. 27 in the Team ITA rankings. The Wildcats are riding a three-match winning streak after defeating then-No. 18 Auburn and Southern Indiana twice in a doubleheader. The team is 3-4 in conference play so far which includes a 1-1 record on the road. Eli Stephenson leads the team with an 11-4 record during the dual match season and comes in at No. 22 to the latest edition of the ITA Singles rankings. Additionally, Stephenson was named SEC Player of the Week on Feb. 4. Jack Loutit (55), Charlelie Cosnet (89) and Nicolas Arseneault (99) make up the rest of the singles rankings. Stephenson and Loutit are No. 24 in the doubles rankings this week and boast an 8-5 record. Matthew Rankin and Arseneault round out the Wildcats’ rankings at No. 48.

SERIES HISTORY

  • Kentucky leads the all-time series against the Gamecocks 31-17. The two teams last met during the 2025 regular season in Lexington, when the Wildcats earned a 4-2 win. Da Silva and Daryabeigi each won their doubles matches in their respective pairings. Returners Weekes, Cosnet, Stephenson and Rankin each won their singles matches to lift Kentucky to a win.

FOLLOW ALONG

Both matches will be streamed on TrackTennis with live scoring available on StatBroadcast. Links to each can be found on the schedule page. Fans can also follow along via in-match updates on X, @GamecockMTennis.

For the latest South Carolina men’s tennis information, continue to follow GamecocksOnline.com or the team on social media (@GamecockMTennis).

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